Being Queer in the African/Black Diaspora

By Frankie Edozien

For more on this topic, visit African & Caribbean Council on HIV/AIDS in Ontario.

TORONTO — In virtually all African and Caribbean communities today, homophobia is so rampant that it remains a challenge — 25 years into the HIV pandemic — to do outreach to gay, bisexual and transgender communities.

But with the ever-rising HIV infection rates, this vast population is slowly coming out of the shadows and is beginning to stand up and demand effective treatment and prevention strategies, activist say.

Activist came together during the XVI International AIDS Conference in Toronto, to demand strategies and urge their compatriots to become public with their gender identification. They participated in a session titled “Being Queer in the African/Black Diaspora.”

They demanded also that heterosexuals join in the fight for equality for their queer brothers.

“You can be met with fines, imprisonment and death. The police can legitimately cut you off on the side of the road, do harm against your body and your spirit and it would be OK,” said Llana James.

James is a Canadian resident who hails from Trinidad and Tobago.

“You cannot fight for rights for one side of you and then leave the other out because we are your children. We made you, we pay for you to show love, pick up our sisters in the middle of the night and we expect the same. When we look at HIV prevention, it is about love. It is about remembering that all black people count,” James said.

Tokes Osubu, who lives in New York City and runs the Gay Men of African Descent, (GMAD) agreed.

“We’re dealing with a human-rights issue. At the end of the day, if we don’t do it we certainly will go to our graves very depressed,” said Osubu, who is 46 and has lived with HIV for 22 years.

“We’re not at home in Canada. We’re not at home in the U.K. We cannot even be at home when we go home,” he said.

During the six-day conference, Osubu made an effort to seek out African delegates and introduce. He also committed to traveling to Africa so he could help in the fight on the ground.

Oludare Odumuye, the head of Alliance Rights Nigeria, the only rights group for sexual minorities in Nigeria, said outreach in Africa’s most populous country for gays is an up-mountain battle.

“We’re not within the national response. There is no funding. There is no recognition of the fact that we do exist. There is criminalization. There is a lot of societal and religious discrimination,” Odumuye said.

We’re here to increase our visibility,” Odumuye added, saying that gays and lesbians abound in Africa. “We want our voices to be heard. AIDS is killing all of us in Africa and we want our voices to be heard.”

Robert Carr, co-founder of the Caribbean Vulnerable Communities Coalition from Kingston, Jamaica, said it is extremely difficult to do outreach on that island nation, known worldwide for its homophobia.

“It drives people underground at this point. There are very few people willing to embrace a gay identity or a lesbian identity at this point. Its difficult to live openly. Most people end up living in the shadows,” said Carr, who organized and moderated the session. “The more the issue is discussed, the more there is international support for people’s rights.”

Last Modified : September 6th, 2006 Filed under : Blackaids.org, Magazine Navigate : Previous post / Next post